Fox now attacking Obama's reasons for becoming a Christian
September 30, 2010 9:16 am ET by Adam Shah
Yesterday, Fox News host Bill Hemmer brought on Father Jonathan Morris -- a Catholic priest and Fox News contributor -- to analyze President Obama's statements about why he became a Christian. And the discussion was not pretty. Morris claimed that while Obama's answer was "pretty good" if "charitably interpreted," he added that "it was not how the average Christian in the United States would answer that question."
Later, Hemmer told a flat-out falsehood to purportedly explain why a large percentage of people incorrectly think Obama is a Muslim or don't know whether he is a Muslim or a Christian. Hemmer falsely claimed that "in modern-day politics, [Obama's] the first president that has chosen not to go to church every week," contrasting Obama with -- among others -- former President George W. Bush. In fact, Bush did not regularly attend church as president and never picked a church to attend in Washington. Neither, for that matter, did former President Ronald Reagan.
Here's Morris critique of Obama's comments:
MORRIS: You know, not too bad. Charitably interpreted, pretty good. But it's not how the average Christian in the United States would answer that question. "I'm a Christian by choice." "It was the precepts of Christianity -- of Jesus Christ that attracted me." The precepts. That's not how the average Christian would respond. Christianity for most Christians who have it as a big part of their life, it's a falling in love not with precepts. Who's going to fall in love with the Ten Commandments? It's the falling in love with -- or the getting to know personally -- a person named Jesus of Nazareth.
If this critique of Obama's statements about faith sounds familiar, recall that Glenn Beck has said: I think [Obama] is a Christian that Christians don't recognize."
As for Hemmer's comments, as we've pointed out, both Bush and Reagan reportedly did not attend church regularly as president.
But getting back to the larger picture, this segment shows one Fox contributor claiming that Obama's interpretation of his faith is "not how the average Christian in the United States" would put it. But later in the segment Hemmer attacked Obama for not being public enough about his faith. Obama just can't win.
I really think this is all that needs to be said about the matter.
But then, the right seems to have the same attitude about money as they do about religion. They respect it a lot more if it was inherited, an accident of birth, than if the person earned it themselves.
The status quo and existing power structure is more important to the right than the American values of success through hard work and self-sufficiency, yet millions of average GOP voters still believe the ruling class of elites want noting more than for them to succeed.
I know plenty of people who go to church every single week, and sometimes more than that, and I would consider them awful Christians.
And I think it would quite a stretch to say that the "average" Christian "falls in love" with Christ! Ick ...
I think what they all meant to say is something like this:
Someone asked him a question.
You mean something along the lines of what this candidate is doing?
Answer: Not quite.
The media and the right created 'Obama's religion problem', not Obama. Again, this is all centered around Obama not being a 'real citizen'. He's 'foreign'. 'Un-American'. 'Muslim'. 'Kenyan'.
LOL... No, most Americans (if they were being hoonest) would answer as I would:
That I'm Christian in the way that if a cow was born in a tree, he'd be a bird.
--------------------------------------------
IMHO
Typical right-wing Christian comment. He equates the "precepts of Christianity" with Old Testament laws and not the teachings of Jesus - love and forgiveness. They do love that Old Testament God and his proscriptions against the things they hate (gays) while ignoring those against the things they love (shellfish).
Second, apparently Morris and the good priest aren't Baptists or members of the church of Christ. What Obama described is EXACTLY what we believe (I've been a member of both) and we're pretty darned average.
You just insulted Christians, dude. Wow.
Someone who simply goes through the motions because it's what they've always done? Not so much.
Of course I'm not saying that there are no sincere Christians who were raised in the church - just saying that choosing Christianity as an adult is almost ALWAYS going to be a good indicator of one's actual belief in the faith!
i agree. of course beck skews the therory a bit, deciding to be morman later in life.